Ten Trends�!   scholarship�

!   literacy and numeracy�

!   assessment for learning �

!   data and student progress�

!   scientific management �

!   professional development �

!   positive psychology�

!   enterprise education �

!   outdoor education �

!   parental engagement �

Assessment for Learning

Assessment for Learning (AfL) means using evidence and feedback to identify

where pupils are in their learning, where

they need to go and how best to get

there.

“Inside the black box” (Black and Wiliam, 1998) summarises the main findings from 250 assessment articles (covering nine years of international research). It identifies five key factors that improve learning through assessment:

The Curriculum The Assessment

The Differentiation The Evaluation

The Curriculum The Assessment

The Differentiation The Evaluation

!   Starting event !   Sequence !   Outcome(s) to test !   Formative assessments !   Final test/task

!   Extension, Enhancement !   Support !   What did we learn? !   What should we do better?

What have you learned? What have you achieved? What do you feel good about/proud of? What do you like doing/learning? What do you do well? What do you find hard? What don’t you know/understand? What do you want to do/improve/learn? What do you need to do to make that possible? What help do you need? What ways helped you learn this? What ways did you learn best/prefer? What do you think of yourself as a learner?

Before using such questions you will want to discuss what these questions mean for the children you work with. •  Does it vary with age? •  How would you make these ideas accessible to different age groups, and to children with special educational needs, children from different cultural backgrounds and children with English as an additional language (EAL)?

What kind of learner are you? ���������

Engage children in discussion about their own learning behaviour, during lessons or sessions and in plenaries. Questions that encourage children to reflect on themselves as learners include, for example:

���Classroom talk

Teacher asks a question

Children put their hands up Teacher takes an answer

Teacher accepts, rejects or develops the answer Teacher asks a further question

Research going back for decades has shown that, in classrooms, teachers control the majority of the talk – selecting who will speak, when they will speak and for how long. Teachers also do most of the talking in classrooms.

The most common form of teacher–child discourse in classrooms is that shown above. Such exchanges often close down learning

opportunities because children are steered towards a correct answer that the teacher is seeking.

The effectiveness of teacher–learner exchanges depends on the quality of the questioning (or alternatives to questioning).

Traditional questioning

Extending classroom talk

Evaluations of the use of interactive whiteboards in Years 5 and 6 found that their use led to children talking for longer in their responses and using a range

of extended vocabulary in their explanations.

Teaching through dialogue enables adults and children to build on ideas in sustained talk. When teaching through dialogue, teachers and practitioners encourage children to listen to each other, share ideas and consider alternatives; to build on their own and others’ ideas to develop coherent thinking; to express their views fully; and to help each other reach common understandings. Teaching through dialogue can take place when a teacher or practitioner talks with an individual child, or when two children are talking together, or when the whole class is joining in in a discussion.

Strategies for encouraging extended dialogue: Allow thinking time before taking responses

Use ‘think, pair, share’ (30 seconds to think, 1 minute to share with a partner)

Do not respond immediately after a child has replied – often they will say more

Challenge the response – ‘Tell me why …’, ‘But what about …?’

Ask the child to elaborate – ‘Can you say more?’

Another feature of classroom discourse that has been identified through research is the brevity of many children’s responses. In a comparative study of classrooms in the UK, Russia, India and the USA, Alexander (2001) has argued for a greater emphasis on developing dialogic talk, where extended responses from children are expected, encouraged and supported.

3a� D/E border�

4a� good C�

5a� A or A* �

X �X �

X �

Hattie’s barometer: !comparing different influences

J.Hattie, Visible Learning, 2009

Ability grouping J.Hattie, 2009

Class size J.Hattie, 2009

Gender J.Hattie, 2009

Principals J.Hattie, 2009

Open or traditional classrooms J.Hattie, 2009

Birth weight J.Hattie, 2009

Socio-economic status J.Hattie, 2009

Pre-school J.Hattie, 2009

Early intervention J.Hattie, 2009

Parental engagement J.Hattie, 2009

Motivation J.Hattie, 2009

Self concept J.Hattie, 2009

Acceleration J.Hattie, 2009

Mobility J.Hattie, 2009

Television J.Hattie, 2009

Professional development �!   Must be about improving or updating specialist/subject knowledge�!   Must help us improve our skills in practice�!   Must have evaluation alongside development �!   Must be sizeable! ��...So we need a different paradigm: ��

!   consultancy �!   artisan �

Seligman !   Identified as the founder of Positive Psychology !   Attempting to leave behind a psychology obsessed with illness and

depression

!   Trying to find out what is related to Happiness

!   Trying to understand how people can improve their happiness !   Developed online tests which help to identify individuals’ strengths !   Promotes the idea of recognizing and enjoying your strengths, so

that you can build on them

Learning to behave !   The three crucial parts of learning to behave for the pre-

teen are:�

S.Palmer, 2006

deferred gratification

the ability to balance your

needs against the needs of

everyone else

the ability to maintain attention

Hug (or wink) !   Students at Pennsylvania State were

assigned to two groups. The first had to hug others at least 5 times a day over 4 weeks: front-to-front, non-sexual hugs using both arms. The others did not.

!   The huggers (averaging about 49 a week) became much happier

!   The guys who found it uncomfortable at first found ways to start, such as with success on the sports field

!   Later, the researchers found winking and complimenting also work

J M Clipman, 1999

Be optimistic !   Professor Laura King asked participants in an

experiment to visit her lab for 4 consecutive days, and to spend 20 minutes writing about their “best possible future selves”

!   Compared with those who just wrote about their lives, the participants had happier moods and even reported fewer physical ailments several months later

!   Those who persist derive more benefit !   Why? Because it asks a question relevant to

your lives, it starts the process of building today and, through the medium of writing, it helps you discover and structure your ideas

L.A.King, 2001

But, 6 years later...�

only 1 in 5 had completed a four-year US degree�

Parental engagement J.Hattie, 2009